Thomson Reuters Twitter Feed Hacked by Pro-Assad Group

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hacking is the great equalizer for "armies" that might not fare so well on the battlefield, as financial data and news giant Thomson Reuters learned yesterday.

The Web site Allthingsd.com reported that the Syrian Electronic Army ("SEA"), which backs President Bashar al-Assad in the Middle East nation's bloody, nearly two-and-a-half-year-old civil war, briefly co-opted @ThomsonReuters to spew seven tweet links to images that included pro-Assad cartoons that BuzzFeed captured.

The Thomson Reuters account was temporarily suspended until the company regained control of it. The SEA last April and May took credit for hacking into Twitter accounts of CBS, The Guardian and Financial Times, according to the Allthingsd article.

Turns out you can't believe everything you read in social media world, a shocking revelation to no one.

Wire-Cutting

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At least nine editorial slots have been axed by Thomson Reuters ("TR") news service in a cost-cutting measure, the Web site for Talking Biz News (www.talkingbiznews.com) reported today.

An indeterminate number of TR employees across the board are getting their walking papers in departments ranging from training to sales and editorial, the Talking Biz News post reported. Reportedly, a quarter of Reuters' Wealth Mgt. Division was eliminated by the staff reduction.

Lee Not Free: Paywall-mania on the Horizon

Dibrary: Digital Newspapers (Photo credit: Mosman Library)

Buoyed by successful returns on paywalls erected for its Montana and Wyoming online newspapers (see "TUOL" post 8/2/11), Davenport, Iowa-based Lee Enterprises, Inc. plans to charge subscribers for digital content at most of its holdings by the end of 2012, Thomson Reuters reports.

Lee Chair/CEO Mary Junck says the conglomerate plans to step up its metered payment model paywalls over the next three months. Lee owns 48 newspapers, co-owns four others, and counts another 300 specialty publications among its holdings. It boasts roughly 1.3 million subscribers among 23 states, according to the Thomson Reuters article.

Reuters Looks to US

Image by wallyg via FlickrReuters America ("RA") has been launched by New York-based information company Thomson Reuters, according to a press release by the company.

RA will provide domestic news, information and services to U.S. newspapers and broadcasters. The Tribune Co., whose holdings include The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times,  has inked a multi-year deal with RA that will provide them with news, photos, digital, graphics and online video services.  Coverage in entertainment and sports in particular, is being touted by RA.

Newspaper Guild Lodges NLRB Complaint Against Thomson Reuters

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Financial information and news service Thomson Reuters is the target of a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) complaint filed by the Newspaper Guild of New York, Local 31003 of the Communications Workers of America.

The Guild has accused Thomson Reuters of unilaterally declaring an impasse in contract negotiations on Jan. 19 so that it could impose draconian pay cuts against unionized journalists and technicians. The Guild claims the pay cuts average will 10 percent, but Thomson Reuters disputes the claim, arguing that the roughly 400 unionized journalists at Reuters News Service  actually will see a .5 percent boost in their wages.

The Guild also alleged that Thomson Reuters implemented a Twitter policy for its staff without negotiating the issue with the union. New York City-based Thomson Reuters is the product of the Thomson Corp. 2008 purchase of Reuters.